A Tangible *Jingles*

MANY of you none horsey forum people have asked me what "jingles" are. This post and thank you is a week over due, but I wanted it to be accompanied with a picture. I have an actual curb chain now that I can literally "jingle" thanks to Rhonda (sugarvfk) from the UltimateDressage forum. She and I met for lunch last week and she gave me her late horse's curb chain. Fred, her Tennessee Walking stallion died of colic:-( She said I could use it to keep jingling for Lester to continue having a successful recovery.

Fred's Curb Chain

(a chain that is attached to the bit of a bridle that tightens when one pulls back on the reins)

Note to all, your jingling is still needed for up to a year!

Some people "Jingle" by thinking of the person or animal in need and physically "jingle" a curb chain, keys, or anything that jangles. Others send well wishes, prayers and positive energy. What ever your method of "Jingles" have been it has been very much appreciated and Lester and I thank you all!

Farmer Sam...

Sam is my 12 (going on 13) year old nephew that came to the farm on Saturday with my parents. He came all the way from Texas to see Lester! (well to visit his grandparents too;-)

NO CARROT FOR YOU!

Exciting week. Hah, not really. Monday night I was giving him his UlcerGard which he protested by slamming his jaw down on the top of my head. OUCH. NO CARROT FOR YOU!!!

Tuesday night I made the mistake of putting Lester out in the paddock without his gelding, Fella- Laura was untacking him and would bring him later. But Lester did just what I thought he would- walk calmly over to the water trough, take a few sips and casually walk off. Then seconds later he realized that Fella wasn't with him and I literally saw the "OH SH*T!!!!Expression on his face. He squealed and remembered that he has 4 legs and could RUN. He galloped and bucked and kicked. I flagged him down and tried to calm him until his buddy Fella got there, but I could only contain him for so long without the halter so I had to let him run and squeal again and get his halter. Once I did and he was back on lead he had this look like "Eh, maybe that was a little too much play". I'll admit though it was good to see him run and have fun again, but damnit I didn't have my camera:-(
Lester got new feets yesterday! So hopefully I can get back on him by this weekend and continue our walking sessions. Ronnie, his farrier said a new word I have never heard before.
He said he was going to cook "faheaters" that night :-) He was trying to say fajita.

Does my butt look big? :-/

Lester's Own Words....

This post will be written from Lester's point of view.

Da weekend wuzn't really excitin. OMG can I eat that?? Oh, itz just an orange pen thing...I thots it wuz a carrit...Mom did'ent do a lot wich meh. Cept she kep put'n stuffs in meh left eye. I gots dirt or hays in it and it wuz kinda swollen and I wuz keep'n it close'ed most of da time. She trick'ed meh tho, I thot I wuz gonna jus eat grass'es and she spray'ed waters inta meh eye! @#@%$%! It wuz a lite mist, but stills, I did'ent like it. OMG can I eat that?? Oh, itz just da orange pen thing agin...Dis meh big blak geld'n Fella. I let him drink meh waters a lil bit, then I chases him off jus cuz I can;-) I jus hafta pin meh ears back and make an ugly faces an he gits all scared, ha ha. He hurt'ed hiz leg an I swears I had nothin ta do wich it.

I needs new shoes. I hears Ronnie, meh shoe man will cum dis Weds, I can't waits ta lik his ears an try an eats hiz hat, he luvs wen I does dat. He talks funny too, like insted of sayins "fire" likes fi-er he sez fer-er an "shower" he sez sha-er, mom laffs at him a lots...

OMG can I eat ...oh nevermindz.

Oh I wants to give a big shout outs to meh friend Paul da Mule, we be good penpals now.

http://geehawpaul.blogspot.com/

9 1/2 Weeks...almost

I finally got the first ride video downloaded, you can see it below! This past Saturday was 9 weeks exactly since his surgery. Man how time flys! We had a nice uneventful weekend again, love those! I hopped on him Friday afternoon for about 5 mins. I don't plan on doing much more than 5 min walks for awhile. The longer we go the more potential for spooking;-)

He did trot over to me yesterday morning though in the paddock and he looked happy and comfortable and soooooooooo cute.

I wonder if I should contact Visa or MasterCard as I have a good "Priceless" commercial for them;-)

$5,000- $7,000 for colic surgery---- finding out your boyfriend can handle such an emergency saying and doing all the right things; PRICELESS!!

I've been meaning to add this information to the medical links as it could really be beneficial for someone that didn't have their horse insured or a lot of money in savings (not just for your horse, but your dog/cat and yourself as well) CareCredit.com

I signed up for this card AFTER I put the bulk of the costs on my Visa, but I do have over $1000 on this particular card. My monthly payment is $46 and I have no interest fees for a year.

Pony Rides...FREE at own risk :-)

On Saturday I offered to let Jen and Laura sit and walk around on Lester, but they both declined. They have witnessed first hand how he gives "pony rides". I had some friends come out one time years ago and I let one on Lester (the girl who swore up and down that she was a "rider") and the other was put on our "monkey-see-monkey-do" horse, Polo (I call him P-Lo though to make him sound "cool"). Well Lester wasn't impressed with her pony riding skills and sent her flying and P-Lo sent his passenger flying as well :-( Thankfully I had made them both wear helmets!
Lester is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're gonna get.
I have forgotten to mention several times now that we are NOT taking Lester back to Auburn to scope him and see how his ulcers are doing. We all (me, Dr. Hanson and Dr. Olsen) feel that it's not worth the stress to put him through and besides, the Omeprazole (GastroGard) he's been on for over a month now is proven 100% effective in healing equine ulcers. In order to scope him he would have to come off all his food, including grazing for a 24 hour period and I'm just not willing to do that to him. It's one thing to take food away from a sick horse, but a happy/ healthy one is another! Lester hates the GastroGard, but he knows the routine now- he's allowed to chase it down with a carrot:-) He is such an easy and respectable boy on the ground.
I got on him again last night and he seemed perkier, but still very well behaved. I'm pondering right now the best "position" to let him walk in. I guess I'll let him "airplane nose" it a while longer and then maybe ask for a little long and low.

Back in the saddle again...

Yesterday was a big day! First time I've been on his back in over 2 months! The reason I'm able to walk him under saddle so early is because his incision site healed so impressively well and no hernias developed. He was such a good boy, I mounted up from the mounting block and he stood there until I asked him to walk. After being on some squirmy babies lately that was a really nice change! He didn't "sink" down like I thought he would, but he was very stiff and when we would stop he "parked out" some- his hind feet were out behind him and he was standing stretched out. I kept a hunter/ perched position the whole time to stay off his back and just like him mosey around. Laura got a video of the 3-5 minute "ride" so I'll post that here when I get it!

His back was a little sore today so I didn't get on him and rubbed some Absorbine Gel on his back. We're taking it slow, one day at a time!

Medical Recap...

May 12th- Severe colic, epiploic foramen entrapment & a twist in the small intestines. Surgery required, removed 15 ft of the small intestines and 2 "fatty" benign tumors from his stomach.

May 14th- Hand walked for the first time.

May 17- 19th- Has been discharged, but I wanted to keep him there a few extra days

May 23rd- Staples removed, trailer home to temporary home.

May 24th (morning) -Mild colic, refluxing leads us to believe it's an impaction. Trailer back to Auburn to be on the safe side. No more "signs" of colic, but has a "colic work- up" done. He is readmitted.

May 30th- Trailer home from Auburn back to SummerWind Farm, his forever home.

May 31st (evening) - Signs of "colic"- kicking at belly, off food, pawing, glazed eyes. Banamine is given a couple of times and also Bucospan is given to slow down the "over active" gut sounds.

June 1st- Back to Auburn for an endoscopy to check for ulcers; significant ulcers found and GastroGard is prescribed (full tube once a day). Bloodwork is normal except a high creatinine level that could be due to stress.

June 9th- First time off lead in paddock

June 11th- Bloodwork redrawn, creatinine level and all other bloodwork is normal. 1 forgotten staple is removed.

June 27th- GastroGard is reduced to 1/4 dose per day; the average dose.

June 29th- "Check-up" exam. 1 small, maybe nothing, indention found near incision site that could be a hernia. Given green light to walk him undersaddle.

Note: The vets and I all agree that it is not necessary to take Lester back to Auburn to scope him and see how the ulcers are doing. It's just not worth the stress of taking him off food for 24 hours. Omeprazole (GastroGard or UlcerGard) is 100% proven to cure Equine ulcers and he is doing so well on it.

Hidden Picture...Can you spot the deer?

Can you find the deer in the picture?? (hint: look where the white and brown fence meet) Horrible pic of "Deer Abbey", but hey, I got one, OK. Laura said "get ready, she's going to jump the fence"- stupid me took "this" picture and when she DID jump the fence the camera was still processing "this" pic and I missed the jump shot:-x Sorry I missed to opportunity to show you how athletic Lester's deer really is. Limo and Spooky got to course her out of the field, so that was pretty amusing.

Well the "bump" turned out to be a bug bite and it is gone now! Yeah!!! Now I slather his belly in Swat fly lotion so there will be no more questioning... It was an uneventful weekend- gotta LOVE and TREASURE those! Lester got to herd his big gelding, "Fella" around so he was happy:-) And we brought the horses in last night a little before 9PM since it was The 4th of July and the neighbors are firecracker happy...

Saddle up...

It was a big weekend for Lester. He got to have a buddy in his paddock, Fella. It could not have been more uneventful. Lester went one way and Fella went the other. In fact I didn't even get a pic of them together until the following morning...because they were so far apart. Due to the horrible storms we have had every night they have done some running around :-x More than I would like. I don't know if Less has developed a hernia or if it's just a fly bite??? See below.
I have been given the "green" light to walk him under saddle. Dr. Olsen came out Friday and said his incision site looked great, he only has one tiny indention spot that may or may not be a hernia- I was told to "watch it", he also listened to his gut sounds which sounded great.
So I put the saddle on him Saturday (pic was taken after he had walked around a bit- I never tighten his girth while he is tied) . He did the "Wedding march" as usual- one leg forward-pause, other leg forward- pause. His steps were really short, but he did not seem that uncomfortable, but I could see a "this feels different" look on him. I will do this several times before actually getting on him- for both he and myself! I think it's a big enough step for now just to see him tacked up again:-) Isn't he handsome?!

The Bump

What does this look like to you? Is it hernia or a bug bite? It's not mushy and there isn't an indention, it's a solid hard bump.
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